A Tragic End on the Prairie
The lonely death of a local farmer reveals the harrowing struggle against the ravages of alcoholism.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Thomas F. Montgomery of Uniontown, a well-known farmer of this county, was found dead on the prairie near Colfax one day last week. Owing to the effects of a peculiar wound on the head received years ago, he experienced serious difficulty in abstaining from strong drink and recovering from its influence when once under it. He knew his weakness well, and strove hard to abstain; but on one or two occasions of late years he failed and went on protracted sprees. For nearly a year previous to May last he had been duly sober and was very industrious. About the middle of that month he came to Colfax and commenced drinking cider; but appetite for stronger drink soon overcame him, and for days he roamed about the streets, almost a maniac. Liquor sellers refused to give him drink, and every effort was made to get him home. Finally one morning he was forced on the stage and driven to Palouse town; but he somehow managed to procure liquor, and could not be sobered. He continued in his drunken and delirious state, eating nothing, until one morning last week he got on the stage to go to Lewiston. He abandoned the stage at the top of the hill, and remained at Buddy's house several days, after which he started across the hills on foot and was seen no more until last Friday or Saturday, when he was found on the prairie cold and stiff in death. Tom was a good man, loved and respected by a large family and numerous friends, whom his wretched death fills with profound sorrow. He was not a common drunkard, but an invalid with physical infirmities which entirely deprived him of will power and self-control.
“He was not a common drunkard, but an invalid with physical infirmities which entirely deprived him of will power and self-control.”
This account reflects a 19th-century understanding of addiction as a physical infirmity ('invalidism') rather than a moral failure, though the tragic outcome remains a resonant reminder of the lack of medical infrastructure for such crises. Today's public health conversations regarding substance abuse, homelessness, and the fragility of individual willpower mirror the empathy expressed in this early Colfax report.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.